Life As A Fox
Chapter 42
NSW
Somehow they had did it, the Chen clan had killed both spies that had been spying on them. (Then knew this because when a spy dies he has a special seal release on his body that allows for a simple black bird to fly to its destination to the palms of the one who holds that other side of the seal tattoo) Mammoth sighed this was a great distress to him, but he knew it was dead of winter and that they wouldn't get far with an entire village to move somewhere. Women, children, pack animals, possessions all of them added up and slowed them down.
He sighed, he would just have to send better trackers and spies, then the door burst open, unannounced "SIR" a man yelled Mammoth stood up stiff from long hours of working behind a desk "The vaults have been broken into" Mammoth's heart skipped a beat, the vaults were where the village stored all the ancient scrolls, they housed information, family trees, and data on everything from the era of 2nd Hokage to now.
It was a library of the entire village's defense, all categorized and labeled neatly. It was supposed to be watched and guarded, but few knew where it was, and nobody knew of anyone who would want to go down there. So the duty to protecting it had grown lax. He swore "what was stolen?" he asked "the scroll of 1,000 leaves, and a few clan scrolls"
Mammoth sighed the clan scrolls were actually worthless, they had no secrets about the clans, maybe secret marriages and things of that nature but when it came to fighting style and things of that nature, they were worthless, clans were smart and housed all that in their own private and secret areas. But the scroll of 1,000 leaves, that was an entirely different matter.
That contained many Class B and higher jutsu's only known and used by the Ninja of Konoha, techniques and styles written down by the strongest and greatest of Ninja, it was honor to have your jutsu added to its vast collection of deadly abilities. Hokages had put some of their own jutsu's in there, jutsu's few in this village could even accomplish, but in the hands of other people with the inspiration to do so, they could be an unstoppable force, using secrets even they in the village have forgotten about.
Mammoth regrettably called for the one person that could do this, even though he knew that person was on personal leave. His mission bird (by summer a hawk, by winter an owl) flew through the snow laden streets to a house that was preparing for a new arrival, one that could arrive any day.
The bird flew around to the patio door, and then landed, it rapped its beak against the door, Akamaru leaped to his feet and barked at the bird. The owl glared at him from the other side of the door. Naruto calmed Akamaru and walked forward, he recognized Mammoth's winter mission bird, a white summoning owl named Taku.
Taku remained standing out in the snow, the feathers on his feet kept them from freezing, he looked up at Naruto "you are summoned, it is urgent" Naruto nodded then the bird turned and flew off into the night. Naruto ran to his closet and began to throw his garments on. Hinata came in, he swore "I know Hinata, I know, but don't worry I promise I will be there, I will be there for the birth, this will only take a little time".
Hinata sighed but nodded "fine, but remember you don't have much time to play with" Naruto glanced at her enormous belly, it was hard to believe only one baby was in there, course, Hinata was a small framed girl, so the baby bump made her look tiny. Naruto gave her one last wry grin, then bounded out to where he was called.
Mammoth spoke "the tracks are fresh, and to sneak into the village means it was a small group, a few probably left their main force to come here, while the rest forged ahead to a new home." Naruto nodded it was understandable, the barrier that surrounds the village would have went off if a group of enemy Ninja larger than twenty entered its perimeter.
Naruto nodded "so the mission is to track them down, and take back the scroll?" Mammoth nodded "yes, would you like to go alone or shall I find you some partners?" Naruto shook his head "I will take my team, we can handle them, besides I have seen what they can do, I know what to expect." Mammoth nodded "very well, be careful".
Naruto nodded little did Mammoth know, was that his team had greatly improved in the Anbu, many of them had made friends with some of them, and had received extra training, Naruto considered them adequate at handling many things, especially Chikao and his latest invention, which was a jutsu made out of respect for him.
Naruto raced along enjoying the feeling of running, as he glided over the top crusted layer of snow (the snow that had not been disrupted was the stuff in the few small meadows that outlay outside of the village, the sun would beat down on the snow melting a bit, but then it would freeze overnight and create a icy layer above the snow making it frozen and able to walk on top of)
He enjoyed himself greatly his tongue lolling to the side of his mouth as he ran, then from the woods he saw a shadow, racing along as well, he veered closer to study this new interest. The shadow kept pace with him remaining close enough to see, but far away enough to not get a real glimpse, a vague recollection, a shadow of a shadow.
Naruto dove into the trees, wanting to know what it was, he added a burst of speed and was after it. It ran faster but not fast enough, it acted like a small child beginning to walk, teetering and tottering everywhere, unsure of it's own strength. He gained upon it and pounced, they rolled together then landed, Naruto on top. He looked into the brown eyes of another wolf like himself.
He gasped in suprise, then relaized these brown eyes were familier, along with the fur. "Chi-...Chikao?" he said backing away. Chikao stood, tail wagging. He shook himself "suprise!" he said. Naruto was taken aback. "wha-...what is this?" Naruto asked "it's a new jutsu that Chikao has made" said another wolf, pure silver with eyes the shade of leaves basking in sunlight.
She was tall and slim, poised perfectly on a tree root. Naruto was taken aback, then a large black wolf edged though the trees, shoving and pushing himself through the foliage. He was big, and broad. His muzzle large and flatter then most, his eyes dull as usual. Naruto grinned there forms matched their personalities. "so, a new jutsu eh?" he said looking to Chikao, Chikao nodded.
Naruto glanced at them once more "and how is it supposed to help you?" Chikao grinned "the mother of all forest disguise's, the ability to track and hunt things quietly, to fight without a weapon at all, I am suprised no one has though of it before, wolves are the greatest." Naruto nodded "so how is it done?" Chikao grinned "the usual, chakra, concentration, and hand signs, lots and lots of handsigns"
Naruto cocked his head "really?" Chikao laughed "no, I was joking, it's complex see, you know how in usual transformations jutsu's you change your apperence?" Naruto nodded. "well...where not changing just our apperence in these, we actully change our body make-up, or phisiology itself, it's flesh and blood, WOLF flesh and blood, it's real."
Naruto stared amazed "I...never thought...this is...this could open up new doors to transformation techniques!" Chikao beamed up at him "I know, are you happy?" Naruto leaped upon him and nipped at him playfully. "of course I am! I am so proud of you, all of you" Chikao grinned "we thought you would be, we did this for you".
Naruto glanced at him "what do you mean?" Gin walked forward "it's time you experiance what it trully means to be head of a wolf pack, come...let us run" Naruto nodded "pack...move out" he said happily, and they ran, they ran through the trees, leaping and dodging dead branches and roots. They ran through the snow bounding and leaping over the drifts, as one they moved and ran, as one they fought and chased up pray they scattered.
Naruto spent the entire day with them, their energy seeming endless, the world seemed only to contain them and only them, there was no missions, no people to escort, no theives to track down, no Chen clan to worry about, there was no village to protect or to guard, it was them and only them. By nightfall they stood side by side watching over the village, seeing it from the tops of the past leaders of the village.
They stood upon the images of the hokages before them, Naruto closed his eyes, as if by doing so, the leadership and wisdom that they had,that they had gained, would pass to him, give him the guidance, the knoledge and the strength to lead and to be a good leader. He turned to his pack, even if he was only leader of these three, it seemed worth it, his dreams of being Hokage had dimmed, they were still there, but at the moment it seemed like the stars above him.
He looked to them, his dream was like the stars because they were so far away from touch, yet he knew he knew that in his heart if he believed in one long enough, that star would be his. He closed his eyes as a soft wind blew across his face. He let out a soft contented sigh "I want you three to know, that if I were to die again, I would die happy to have been your, sensei, your father, and most importently...your friend"
He turned to thim, they nodded "don't say things like that Naruto-sensei, we will never die and neither will you, we will be pack mates forever" Gin looked to the sky "wow! what are they Naruto?" Naruto looked up it was the light of the north, the cascading rainbow, somehow it had managed to show itself this far south. "It is the great spirit bridge, it conects this world to the spirit world, when a demon dies he follows that bridge into the spirit world, and lives out his afterlife there"
He turned to them "you see, we demons don't die, we move on, move on to a place where we are needed more then here" The three of them looked up to the sky "so, right now there is probably some wolf demons, traveling that path right?" Naruto nodded "possibly" Gin smiled "then let us wish them well off, by telling them they are not alone, and that someday, we will join them and run with them together".
Naruto let a small tear run down his cheak "yes, lets" he said finally then he leaned his head back and howled, howled like a true wolf, without anycare, the fianl thoughts of being a human, that small part of him that had always held him back form enjoying his life as a wolf to the fullest, disappeared on the night wind and beneath the bright stars.
Naruto was re-born at that moment, and became the full wolf of the night he was always meant to be, he would always respect the fact he was human, but his humanity was not the deciding factor in his life. He turned and welcomed the new calmness that instilled him, he was at peace. He picked up his howling, they continued far...far into the night.
The moment they were out of sight of the village, the three of them slipped into their wolf form, to run fast, this saved much time. Plus the three added noses helped the tracking much greater. Two days out though, something unthinkable happened...a blizzard, a large one, the storm of the century. Pounding and hailing winds tore at them, slowing them down to a dead walk, leaning into the intolerable wind, heads down, legs straing against both the wind and snow.
Virtually blinded, and un-able to use other any sense, they followed by their internal guide alone. It was cold, a bitter cold, that even the most thick coat could not keep out. The cold bit and stung at their paws, ears and faces. Gin whined Naruto paused only to lean back and run his head comforting over her shoulders.
They moved until they found saftey, an island in a raging sea of white. It was a small grove of pine trees, their boughs so large they seemed to have grown in mass together, Naruto lead them into the safty of the middle of them. They formed a small alcove of shelter. Naruto and his students greatfully curled up next to each other and rested.
It was awhile before their was a break in the storm. Naruto stared out form under the branches, deciding on weather to risk it or not, he was not an idiot, he knew it was only a lull in the storm, and it would return with a vengence once more, but this lull might be long enough for him to gain on their adversaries, and maybe even accomplish the mission.
Chikao must have known what he was thinking, "I say we go for it, we won't get a better oppertunity" Naruto looked to Gin and Baru, they nodded. Baru swiped snow from his muzzle. Naruto nodded "we will return here if it does start up however"They nodded and continued out, leaping through snow that reached almost to their bellies.
Hinata was cleaning dishes, something simple and routine, she looked out the window and the snow, she could tell by the cloud that was rolling over the village wall that it was a feirce storm, but due to the wall they were safe form the worst of it. She sighed to herself and picked up a knife, she began to run water over it, when it happened.
Women will tell you that they don't know how they know, they just know, that it's time, no one knows for sure, maybe the deepest center of our brain houses the secret, maybe it is something with our bodies, but either way, we women know when it is time for us to bring life in this world. She gasped, and dropped the knife.
The sudden clatter of silverware had Kiba coming to the kitchen "whats-" was all he could say before he noticed Hinata doubled over clutching her stomech, she didn't have to say a word. Kiba grabbed her coat began dressing her and him, gathering the hospital bag they had packed a few days before and was out the door with her, carrying her, locking the door and shutting off the lights at the same time.
At the hospital, Hinata was admitted into a room, she was not yet fully dilated so she had time to wait. Kiba sat next to her nervously shuffeling about, wondering what to do, Hinata was doing well with the pain so far, she did her deep breathing calming herself, not wanting to bring more stress into the situation.
Sakura and Ino arrived in bundled coats, "brrrr it's a cold one, how you doing?" Sakura asked "I am more worried about Kiba" Hinata said "I'm fine...it's just I don't know what I am supposed to do" he said scratching his head "just being here is all you need to do, be here next to my side, and never leave it" Hinata said, Kiba grinned and sat down next to her, holding her hand and kissing her on the head "sometimes, you are much stronger then me".
Hinata smiled "what are you talking about I'm always stronger than you" she said smiling then hissed and grimaced as a labor pain racked her body. Kiba suddenly asked "are you allright" Hinata snapped back "no I am not all-right you bloody bastard!" Kiba gulped loudly.
Well, this is what I have so far, I hope you enjoyed. I will be typing tommorow so expect another chapie, like I said they will becoming quick.
Also to my readers both new and old, I re-did the first chapter so if you want to read it, please do I think it is much better.
NSW